Aggrieved
by Firefly-Maj
Summary: An unpleasant incident concerning Legolas makes little Estel want to prove himself, but of course, something unexpected happens... Slightly A/U, sometimes fluffy, no Slash! Featuring Elrond, Turin and the twins as well.
1. You re in harm s way

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of this, it is all J.R.R. Tolkien´s...**

Chapter 1: _You´re in harm´s way..._

Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, sat on a bench in the gardens of Rivendell and checked on his weapons; he had just arrived a bit earlier and was about to go hunting with Elladan and Elrohir, therefore he wanted to make sure to be well prepared. Feeling utterly relaxed, he paused for a while, closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sunshine on his face. This peaceful moment was interrupted when suddenly something leapt on his back, sending his daggers flying and nearly causing Legolas to break the arrow he was still holding.

It was Estel, Elrond´s little foster son; he was giggling gleefully now, but when Legolas, who had been severely startled by the unexpected attack, turned round and looked at the boy in an unsual grim fashion, he stopped immediately.

"Estel!", the agitated elf said, "never do that again when I´m handling my weapons, do you understand? I could have hurt myself, or you, or anyone who would have happened to be in harm´s way, for that matter!"

Estel dropped his head; he had never seen Legolas so angry.

"Do you understand?", Legolas asked again.

Estel nodded slowly: "I´m sorry", he said in a low voice.

Legolas inspected his slightly damaged arrow and sighed; when he looked up again, Estel was gone.

The elf shook his head; he had not intended to scare the boy away, but this was a serious matter; Estel had to understand that weapons were no toys, even or especially if he was only six years old.

Estel slipped into his favourite hiding place in an old wardrobe; he wrapped his arms around his knees and bit his lip. He had not meant to do any harm, he had not even seen that Legolas was handling his weapons; he had only seen him sitting in the sun with his eyes closed.

He felt very ashamed now; he knew that Legolas could have hurt someone and then it would have been his, Estel´s, fault. He should have had a better look what Legolas was doing, but then he had been so happy to see his friend, that he had just taken off to greet him, and then everything had gone wrong. Now Legolas certainly could not but think that Estel was only a stupid child that could not do anything right, could he?

Later that day, Elrond saw his twin sons and their friend off; he had been looking around for Aragorn, who normally would at least have wanted to wave goodbye. As usual, for the last few days he had been pestering either Elrond or one of the twins, asking to be allowed to accompany them on the hunt. He had been denied this, considering his tender age and safety reasons: "If you grow old enough to be able to defend yourself and stay on the horse at the same time", Elladan always said with a wink, at which Aragorn usually replied that he was quite a good rider and everyone had said so. He was indeed quite talented, and it was a pleasant if amusing sight whenever he chased after his brothers on his little pony Turin.

But Estel was nowhere to be found; after the hunting party had left, Elrond walked back to the main house, deeply frowning. It was not unusual for Estel to be out and about until late in the day, as he was quite self-reliant and adventurous, but that he did not show up to bid his brothers and Legolas farewell struck Elrond as somewhat peculiar.

The twins were wondering about it, too: "I would like to know what Estel is plotting right now to get back on us", Elladan said, grinning.

Legolas listened up: "Why, what happened?" Elladan shrugged: "Nothing happened, that´s why. Normally the little one is trying to be allowed to come along until the very last minute, but as he did not even say goodbye this time, I think he is mortally offended right now." "We shall expect frogs in our beds when we return", Elrohir added, sniggering.

Legolas suddenly looked conscience-stricken: "I think it is my fault that he was not there", he said guiltily. Elladan and Elrohir simultaneously raised their eyebrows in a very Elrond-like fashion and looked at him enquiringly, so Legolas told them what had happened. Elladan could not help but laugh at the very idea of this, but Elrohir shook his head: "He should have paid more attention", he said.

Legolas, who never bore a grudge for long, shrugged: "No, I think I was overreacting. After all, I_ was_ sitting with my hands in my laps when it happened, and Estel has been greeting me like this whenever he could over the past few years, so I should have been expecting it. I will apologize to him when we get back", he added.

Estel, however, had been thinking about how he could convince Legolas that he was not stupid and useless and had finally come up with a solution that seemed quite brilliant to him: he would follow Legolas and the twins! That would be easy, as they only wanted to ride as far as the waterfalls tonight, where they had often taken Estel for a swim, so he knew the way. All he had to do was to take Turin and sneak out without being caught.

When dusk settled that evening, Estel scurried over to the stables; he knew that the stablehands would be having their dinner right now and would not notice him. The little boy slipped into Turin´s box and laid his hand on the pony´s neck, then he bridled it quickly and led it outside. The noise Turin´s hooves were making sounded thunderous to Estel, but everything remained silent. As soon as he was out of the yard, he mounted and urged Turin into a canter.

He had not thought about the darkness. As soon as it had become night, he could barely see what was in front of him, and while he was still struggling to admit defeat, Turin, who had much better ears and did not like the sounds of night, apart from the darkness, decided to settle the matter by simply refusing to go any further. Estel slid of the pony´s back, but not being less stubborn, took the reins and began to walk, pulling Turin along. He simply did not want to give in; he would have been too ashamed of himself and thinking that Legolas was right, after all, in seeing only a mindless child in him.

In Elrond´s house, meanwhile, everyone was looking for the boy. Elrond did not however think about having Turin´s presence in the stable checked, because a six year old boy setting off alone into the night was just beyond his imagination, and apart from that, he did not know about the incident concerning Legolas.

Estel´s thoughts were racing while he pondered on what to do; if he had to walk all the way, he probably would not be able to make it in time, but if he reached the waterfalls too late, the hunters would be gone. Just when he considered the way he had to take, something came to his mind; there was an old watchtower, just a little off the path he was walking on now, where he might find a torch and some flint. It was quite easy to find once you had passed the old bridge, and it was near.

By midnight, the first searching parties had come back only to report that they had not found anything. Elrond´s worry for Aragorn was increasing, but still it did not appear to him that the boy could have left on horseback. He was rather worried that something odd might have happened to his youngest; he was, after all, sometimes a bit too careless, which had already ended up with him falling into all kinds of water or losing his orientation and getting lost in the woods.

Estel had meanwhile found the old watchtower; the moon had come out and lit the path just enough for him to make sure he was on the right way. He was far too excited to be afraid and quite proud of himself when he found the torches; it took a while to light the one he had taken, but he succeeded at last. Swiftly, he climbed back on Turin´s bare back, and the pony, now being able to see where it put its feet, set off again.

After a while, when the initial excitement had worn down, Estel grew a bit tired; he tried to distract himself by thinking about his plan. He had to admit to himself that he did not really know what to do after he had found the others, he had just thought along the line of watching them for a while and then, when they would be too far away from home to bring him back, expose himself. When he had first thought of this, it had seemed reasonable and exciting, but now he could see the flaw in this plan: what if they´d be unbelievably angry with him? What if he would just be a burden?

But then Estel was not one to lose heart so easily, and he _had_ brought his bow and his knife, after all.

He did not know how much time had passed when he could hear the river, which meant that he was getting near the waterfalls. Estel lowered the torch but urged Turin on; it could not be very far now, so he had to be careful neither to be heard nor to be seen.

The ground was soft and sandy, so the hoofbeat was softened a great deal, and as Estel just had to follow the river from here, he dared to put out the torch. He was wide awake again, now that he had come this far. He was quite near the camping site, when Turin abruptly lifted his head and pricked his ears; Estel had to suppress a giggle, as Turin for sure had sensed his brother´s horses. But then the pony again did not want to move on one step. "Don´t be so stupid", Estel whispered, "the moon is light enough to see, and you have been here before, after all." But when Turin finally moved, he walked backwards, in an awkwardly nervous way.

Estel tried to stop him: "Turin! What-" but then he fell silent, because now he could hear it, too: something was moving through the undergrowth, something that sounded like many feet, and judging from the clanging sounds, something that wore armour. At this point, Estel froze completely, his mind racing, but then he came to his senses and silently slid down off Turin´s back, pulling him towards the trees on the other side of the path, out of the moonlight. The pony followed willingly, as if it had sensed that its rider had finally understood.

The night had gone far, but in Rivendell people were still looking for young Estel. Elrond himself had been out as well and just returned from a fruitless search, when one of the stablehands approached him: "I am sorry, my lord, but it seems that the little master´s pony has disappeared as well." Elrond stared at him, not apprehending at first, and then groaned inwardly, cursing himself for not having thought of the one appropriate reason Aragorn might have had to disappear like that on the very same day his brothers had gone hunting. "Get my horse ready, and quick", he said without hesitating any further, and then turned to the men who had been out searching with him: "I must ride to the waterfalls of Gal-Badran; I have reason to believe that Estel went there on his pony. Anyone who is not too tired, please meet me at the stables."

Estel closed his eyes and edged as near to his pony as possible. Orcs, he thought without being able to say for sure, but this is what he had imagined it to be like, in the safety of his bed and with a pleasantly creepy feeling, to be out in the woods at night and hear them approach you. Only this time he was not safe, and he could not make them disappear by opening his eyes. So he listened hard, not daring to move at all and silently praying for Turin to remain calm all the same. It did not take him long to realize that they were moving towards the camp; as they were staying in the shelter of the undergrowth, they would need a bit longer to get there than they would if they had taken the sandy path which led straight to the falls, but then they would have run straight into Estel, too.

The boy breathed hard as he realized that his brothers and Legolas were in immediate danger, but then he could not do anything, could he? If he tried to get there first, the orcs were bound to discover him, and it would take only one arrow to stop him. But he also could not get back to Imladris and get help in time; the twins and Legolas might be... dead by then. When Estel had come this far, he started to shiver violently; with a cruel clarity it dawned on him that he was helpless, and that he _was_ only a little boy, after all. Not being able to fend off the terror that overcame him, he crumpled to the ground and wept.

**TBC**


	2. and I m right behind

Chapter 2: _...and I´m right behind_

Elrond mounted his horse and took the torch that the stablemaster was handing him: "Thank you", he said and then urged his horse on. He still could not believe Estel had done this; he was so angry that for a moment he considered just waiting until morning, to teach the boy a lesson should he get lost and afraid, but when he concentrated the elf lord sensed that something was wrong, and knowing Estel, he did not want to risk the boy´s life just by being overly punishing. Apart from that, he had the strange feeling that there was more to Estel vamoosing like this, and the sensation of foreboding that grew stronger every minute made him hurry even more.

In the camp by the waterfalls, everything was quiet. Elladan had taken over the first watch and listened to the monotonous rumble of the water until he dozed off, too. It would not have come to his mind to worry about orcs here, as this was nearly within Rivendell´s borders and therefore too dangerous for them. They had put up the watch more out of habit than of real need.

Estel sat on the ground and hid his face in his hands when he felt Turin´s nose gently nuzzle his head; slowly, the boy looked up and deeply inhaled the pony´s familiar smell, as warm and embracing as ever, feeling like home. Home. It would never be the same without the twins, and Estel did not dare to think what Elrond would say if he got to know that Estel had been so near but yet of no help at all. Maybe he would be angry enough to send Estel away?

The boy hesitantly got to his feet, and suddenly he knew what he had to do. He had to try and save his brothers if he ever wanted to go home again, it was as simple as that. He could not just stay here and dread the outcome of this night, nor could he ride back.

After another moment´s hesitation, he urged Turin on again, careful not to make any noise. He had to get ahead of the orcs, and there was only one way to do so; he had to sneak along until he was close to the camp and then, once he was past them, get there as fast as possible.

He listened carefully, as the noise in the undergrowth was still there, but it seemed that those who were producing it were slowing down in order not to be heard in advance, which was a welcome advantage for Estel, as it bought him precious time. On the other hand, it meant that they would hear better, too. So Estel, who could feel his pony tense nervously, laid his hand on the animal´s neck to calm it and urged it on nevertheless.

Elrond rode as fast as possible at night in the woods; though the elves had superior eyes, their horses had not, and he did not want to risk anyone of his party having an accident or simply be delayed because of that; he felt that all them would be needed if it came to the worst.

When the sounds in the undergrowth were but barely audible and the waterfall´s rushing seemed to be near, Estel dug his heels in Turin´s sides, and the surprised though already high-strung little horse immediately jumped into a gallop, away from the cause of its nervousness. Estel grabbed a fistful of mane and held on tightly as Turin ran faster yet, simultaneously straining his ears to listen if the orcs had noticed them.

Apparently they had, because he could hear a distant commotion, but then he was not able to care about that anymore, as he crossed the river now and sped along its bank, heading towards the falls.

Elladan woke with a start and looked around in bewilderment; at first, he did not know what had roused him, and it took him some seconds to realize there was an unexpected noise, something other than from the waterfalls. He listened intently, being fully awake now, and finally recognized the sound of hooves coming nearer very fast. Quickly, he took his bow and got to his feet; he then shook Elrohir´s shoulder to wake his twin. Elrohir looked at him questioningly and opened his mouth to say something, but Elladan merely put one finger to his lips and then his cupped hand to his ear in order to make him listen. Elrohir understood and remained silent, his face worried. Elladan moved on to wake Legolas, so they would be fully alert.

Only seconds later, all three of them were ready to strike, if necessary, and had pulled back into the shadow of the trees. To their tremendous surprise, it seemed to be only a small pony that now stormed into the camp, and when the three elves recognized the pony as well as its rider, their jaws dropped.

"Estel!", Elrohir stepped out and headed towards the panting boy, who now slipped off Turin´s back and wrapped his arms around his brother´s waist, suddenly sobbing.

"Estel", Elrohir repeated, gently stroking the boy´s hair, "what are you doing here, in the middle of the night? And alone?"

Estel looked up at him, and even before he had said anything, the panicked expression of the little boy´s face told Elrohir that something was seriously wrong.

"We must leave immediately", Elladan said after Estel had finished telling them about the orcs, not quite knowing what to make of this, "we seem outnumbered by far."

Elrohir shook his head: "We cannot leave, even if we wanted to; they are bound to detect us." "It is too late anyway", Legolas said. "We cannot but hide, therefore I suggest we climb onto the trees and let them come; either they will not actually find us and thus leave again, or we will have to defend ourselves from above."

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds, because the outcome was all too predictable.

Estel could hardly believe that they were even taking the time to discuss: "They heard me taking off and will be here very soon!", he gasped, "we cannot just stand here!"

His brothers as well as their friend were still gobsmacked as to how he had got there and come into the position to warn them, but only now did they realize how close the danger was. "I can hear them", Legolas stated indeed, which sent them into action. Elladan took the horses and tethered them to some trees in the distance where they would not be noticed immediately, while Elrohir took Estel and helped him climb on one of the trees that surrounded the camp site. Legolas quickly hid their packs and climbed another tree, one that would allow him to aim freely in every direction without being seen so easily.

Elladan joined them, and then they waited.

They did not have to wait long, though: the orcs, who sure enough had heard Estel riding towards the camp, were incensed by the prospect of having been outwitted; they did only know that there were some elves staying by the waterfalls, but not how many of them and therefore decided to outrightly attack so as not to give them too much time to plot or even escape.

They had not, however, expected the site to be empty.

Elrohir held his little brother close; he would protect him as best as he could, but he was afraid that it would not be enough. He could feel the little one´s heart beating rapidly and knew how afraid he was, though he would never admit it.

Estel anxiously watched the orcs swarming about underneath them, fearing more for his poor pony than for himself right now, and it was only when one the foul creatures triumphantly held up one of the packs that he was afraid to be discovered, and he noticed Elrohir was breathing in hard.

Shortly afterwards they heard one of the orcs say something about elves and trees, and suddenly it looked like all eyes were on them, except that they could not be seen, being well-hidden by the dense foliage; nevertheless, after a short consultation the orcs apparently had come to a conclusion concerning what to do, as they busied themselves with organizing something.

_Please, make them go away_, Estel thought, his heart thumping. They however did not intend to but were lighting a fire now; the elves did not need to see what the orcs were about to do to know that they would set fire to the trees.

Elrohir looked over to where he knew Legolas and Elladan to hide; he could not really see them, but as he was obviously the one in charge of little Estel, they would have to decide what to do; he could not risk to draw any attention to the boy.

Only a few seconds later, two of the orcs screamed in surprise and pain and fell, and before the other orcs could react, more of them shared the same fate.

The remaining orcs, once they had realized that they were under attack, tried to hide behind bushes and trees, which made the group dissolve into chaos until someone bellowed an order, and afterwards the orcs resumed what they were doing, quite awkwardly trying to hide behind some makeshift shields while lighting branches to set fire to the trees.

Legolas and Elladan continued shooting, but they could not bring down enough orcs.

With mounting horror, Elrohir watched as the tree his brother was in was set alight, but he still did not know what to do. In addition to that, the orcs now started to blindly fire arrows into the trees. Elrohir looked at Estel: "Hold on to the branch, Estel", he whispered, "I have to help them!" He made sure that Estel wrapped his arms tightly around the tree: "Whatever happens, stay here, and stay silent!", Elrohir urged, then he took his own bow and skilfully climbed over to the next tree to get nearer to the others.

More trees had been set on fire by now as well, and thick smoke blocked the view from time to time, but Estel could not close his eyes, he had to see what happened.

Elrohir was halfway there when a yelp came from the other end, and Estel, squinting his eyes, saw someone dangling from the tree; it was Legolas, and from the awkward way he clung to the branch, it seemed like he had been hit by an arrow. Elrohir was climbing with his back to him but heard the malicious exclamations on the ground which could not mean anything good; he peered over his shoulder and gasped when he became aware of what was happening: another orc was carefully taking aim at the blond elf, being cheered on by his companions. Just at that moment, another sound could be heard, a sound that to Elrohir painfully reverberated in the darkness: Estel´s voice, desperately calling out Legolas´name.

Time stood still. Elrohir closed his eyes as the orcs fell silent and slowly drew in his breath; all was lost, because now they knew of him.

After a moment´s confusion, the orcs, who had been surprised to hear a child, sprang to life again and hurried towards the direction where they assumed to find it. Elrohir, horrified, started to climb back towards Estel as fast as he could; they would not go to get him as long as he had a say in this.

The one moment, however, had just been what Legolas needed; the arrow had struck him in his left shoulder, causing him to lose his balance, but although he had nearly lost his grip on the branch when he suddenly heard Estel, he knew that this was the only distraction he would get and somehow managed to get back on the tree. For a moment, he only sat there, trying to block out the pain in his shoulder and the pain in his heart: Estel had saved him, but they would make him pay for that. Desperate, he struggled to get back on his feet; the smoke had become thicker, so he could not see properly, but then he heard the sound of Elladan still firing at the orcs. Legolas´ own bow had tumbled down to the ground, so all he had left were his daggers, which were of not much use now.

Legolas made to climb over to Elladan; at least, the orcs were not organized properly and had not resumed shooting at them but concentrated on their new target instead. Legolas did not dare to think about little Estel and Elrohir, whom he could not help protect any more, now that he was helpless.

Half-blinded by the smoke, he nearly slipped and quickly grabbed the nearest branch to regain his balance; his shoulder throbbed, and for a moment he could not but close his eyes and will himself to concentrate. He was taking one deep breath when he heard something in the distance, something other than orcs: riders. He listened intently, but the sound had disappeared again. He only hoped that he had not started to hallucinate in case the orc´s arrow had been poisoned; in fact, he tried not to think about that utterly unpleasant option at all. His head shot up when he heard Estel´s voice again, giving a terrified scream; through the drifts of smoke Legolas could see that the tree had been set alight and started to burn rapidly. The orcs were sniggering gleefully at the prospect of the fun they were expecting to have soon.

Estel coughed, the dense smoke that surrounded him made breathing hard; he had screamed because he did not know how to escape the fire, feeling a bit ashamed afterwards, and then, too frightened to move or call for the elves, he just huddled against the tree and closed his eyes.

Elrohir could not get anywhere near Estel anymore, because the tree next him was burning too strong; he could see that all the trees were burning now, but at least the orcs did not try and shoot at Estel, apparently they did not want him dead yet. Frantically, he sought a way to help his foster brother; the little one must be scared to death, and rightly so, because no one was there to protect him.

Elladan meanwhile had run out of arrows; he steadied Legolas by gripping his arm: "Do you think we could manage to climb a bit further?", he asked, casting frantic looks to where he assumed his twin and Estel to be.

Legolas nodded, trying not to show his desperation; he had not, in spite of everything, expected the situation to get out of control so quickly.

They had just started to move on when Elladan suddenly hesitated: "Do you see that?", he nodded towards the ground. "Something is moving in the bushes."

Meanwhile, the orcs had decided not to be in the mood to wait any longer, so they made to cut the already burning tree down; two of them had just embarked on driving a wedge into the trunk when both of them unexpectedly dropped their axes and collapsed.

The orcs simultaneoulsy looked up to the trees, but to no avail: this time, the attack came from the ground.

**TBC**


	3. so better get used to it

Chapter 3: ..._so better get used to it_

It did not take Elrond and his companions longer than a few minutes to take the orcs down, since they had had the advantage on their side. When Elladan and Legolas saw that it was safe to get down, Elladan went first, pushing burning branches aside with his feet and helping Legolas.

Elrohir, sobbing and only half aware of what was happening on the ground, was still trying to get over to Estel, whom he could not even see anymore due to the dense smoke; the elf was already coughing violently and finally had to retreat to avoid passing out on the lack of oxygene. It was only now that he saw his father, who was just re-sheathing his sword, and the orcs that lay slain. Without thinking, Elrohir swiftly jumped down and ran over to the other tree: "Estel!"

Elrond paled. He had seen Elrohir come down off the tree, but his son had not even looked at him and headed directly on to the next burning tree, and just as he was crying out the little human´s name, Elladan and Legolas came running, too. All three of them were calling the boy now.

To their utter relief, after a few seconds they finally heard a small, frightened voice answer: "Here!"

Elrond, who had gotten off his horse and over there quickly, could make out the little boy´s faint outline and called up as loud as he could: "Estel, we cannot come up and get you because of the fire. So listen to me: I need you to be very brave, little one! Can you do that for me?"

"Yes..."

"Well; now, close your eyes. I want you to turn to the direction of my voice, just like you did when we were swimming and you had the water in your eyes, alright? Can you do that?"

The few following seconds seemed like ages, but finally Estel said "Yes, I can", his voice shaking, and he was coughing from the smoke.

"Very good, my little one; and now, do you think you are facing me?"

"Yes."

"Then I need you to be very brave right now, and jump down. I will catch you, I promise!"

Estel swallowed hard; he was more afraid than ever in his life, even if the fire seemed to be worse than jumping down. But what if Elrond could not catch him, like he said? Paralyzed, he remained where he was until he heard another voice down there: "Estel, do not be afraid." That was Legolas´ voice, and he sounded as kind as ever: "If your father does not manage to catch you, I will!" "And me!", he heard Elrohir, followed by Elladan: "And me, too!"

All of a sudden, Estel felt a lot more confident than before, knowing there were enough people down there he could trust; he took a deep breath and jumped, eyes closed.

He felt strong arms stopping his fall and the breath being knocked out of him as they collapsed under the impact; when he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in the middle of a big heap consisting of Elrond, the twins and Legolas, all of whom had tried to catch him.

"Thank you for trusting my abilities", Elrond muttered dryly. "Are you alright, Estel?", he asked then. Estel nodded exhaustedly, so Elrond just pulled him closer and held him tight.

Soon afterwards, the little boy fell asleep.

When Estel woke up late the following day, it took him some time to remember what had happened; he quickly got out of bed then, wondering how he had gotten there in the first place, and left his room. He found Elrond in his study; the elf lord was sitting at his desk reading but looked up when he heard Estel´s naked feet tapping on the floor, and without a word spread his arms. Estel, who had been afraid Elrond might be angry because of what he had done, scrambled onto his father´s lap and nestled down in his embrace.

Elrond laid his cheek against the boy´s hair: "How do you feel, little one?" he asked.

"I am very sorry", Estel said quietly, stroking Elrond´s big hand. The elf smiled: "I am glad to hear that, but it is not what I meant. Do you feel well?" "Yes. Only my throat is a bit sore." "That will be an effect of the smoke", Elrond said, "It will stop soon. But you do not have any headaches or bruises?" "No, I am fine", Estel reassured him quickly. "Are you going to punish me?", he asked in a small voice.

Elrond turned him around so that he could face him: "You know that what you did was not right, first of all because I had not allowed you to go at all and secondly because you simply disappeared and caused us a lot of worry and trouble; but if had not done so, you would not have been able to save your brothers´ and Legolas´ life."

Estel´s eyes went round: "I did not- it was you, Ada..." "I came to help, yes, but only because we were looking for you. And if you had not been there to warn them, they might have been attacked by the orcs."

Estel was speechless. He had expected to be severely told off, but not this.

"But- what I did was bad..." "Yes, and I am glad that you are aware of that. Even though it was very brave to ride through the woods alone in the dark. But Estel, I trust you to know that you should not have done it and will not do it again, not ever." "I will not, Ada, I promise", Estel looked very solemn.

Elrond hugged him tightly: "That is my boy", he said fondly, and Estel comfortably snuggled against him, feeling relieved.

"Now, would you like to go and see Legolas?", Elrond asked after a while. Estel looked up: "Legolas?" He had completely forgotten about him, since he had been so worried about his father´s reaction to the previous day´s events.

Elrond nodded: "He is in the healing warden, complaining about having to stay in bed." "Is it bad?" "His wound? Not as bad as it could have been; fortunately, the arrow has not been poisoned. You can visit him, if you like." Estel´s face brightened: "Yes I do... only I do not know if Legolas is still angry with me", he added, hanging his head.

"I hardly think so, but if you do not talk to him, you will not find out anyway.", Elrond smiled. "Come on, I will walk you there." He took Estel´s hand and led him to Legolas´room.

The wounded elf was lying back against his pillows, looking slightly annoyed.

Elrond let go of his son´s hand: "Go on, maybe you can cheer him up?"

Shyly, Estel advanced the bed. Without even looking, Legolas said: "NO, Elrohir, I STILL do NOT want to play _I Spy_ !" At this, Elrond slightly cleared his throat, which made Legolas turn his head in surprise: "Estel! I am sorry, I thought it was your brother- _again_."

Estel avoided the elf´s eyes but looked at the white bandages instead: "Does it hurt?" "Not too badly", Legolas replied; an awkward silence followed.

"Estel", Legolas finally said, "I am sorry about yesterday. I did not mean to hurt you, I do hope you know that."

Estel nodded, looking at his feet. He still felt a bit ashamed of what had happened.

"Estel", Legolas said quietly. "Please, look at me." Reluctantly, Estel did so, but Legolas´expression was so kind that he immediately felt stupid.

"You saved my life", the elf continued, "and I am very grateful for that. And I hope you can forgive me about scolding you, because otherwise I do not know whom I should teach archery and play with in the future."

He extended his hand, smiling, and when Estel took it, he pulled the boy close: "Are we still friends?", he whispered.

"Yes", Estel said gladly, suddenly grinning: "you offered to catch me, after all." He climbed onto the bed and huddled himself against the elf, being very careful not to touch the wounded shoulder.

Legolas smiled, much appreciating the little boy´s company. It did not take Estel long to fall asleep again, as he was still quite tired; Legolas, who had been telling him a story about two little elven twins who got lost in the woods, fell silent and listened to the child´s breathing.

In the afternoon, Elrohir came in to see if Legolas wanted to play _I Spy_, and the following if whispered argument woke Estel up. Elrohir took him up in his arms and held him as if he would never want to let him go again, at least until Estel complained of not being able to breathe. "You are the bravest little boy I have ever known", Elrohir said and hugged him right again; the fear that had filled him when he thought he was losing his little brother was still very vivid in his mind.

Estel suddenly sat up straight: "Elrohir, I need to go to the stables and see if Turin is alright!" Elrohir laughed: "Do not worry, he is. And I personally made sure that he was treated to an extra large share of breakfast this morning." Estel sighed in relief: "You know, without him I could not have reached you in time, and he was only a little afraid", he added. His brother avoided Legolas´ gaze, otherwise he would have burst into loud laughter: "Oh, I am sure he was nearly as brave as you were, little one." Estel nodded: "Can we go and get him some carrots, please?" Elrohir got to his feet: "Alright; I am sure he wants to see you, too, especially if you have got carrots."

At dinner this evening, Elladan gently nudged his twin, who was sitting next to him, and nodded towards Elrond. Their father could not take his eyes off Estel, who was sipping herbal tea for his throat and pulling faces at the taste of it. When Elrond noticed he was being watched, he smiled apologetically: "I am sorry for my lack of conversation today. I cannot but think about how extraordinary a boy he is, considering his age -which does not mean that you were ...er...are...not..." he added quickly, looking confused.

Elrohir grinned widely: "I think this is the first time I have seen you lost for words, Ada."

Elladan sniggered, adding: "Ever!"

When Estel had finished his tea, he got up and snuck up to Elrond: "Ada, can I go and say Legolas good night, please?" "Yes, you may." "Thank you", the boy wanted to take off, but Elrohir called him back: "Estel!" "Yes?" "Ask him if he wants to play _I Spy_ tomorrow..."

**The End**


End file.
